The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatus for testing the quality of a cable harness as an integrated step in a harness fabrication process. More particularly, it relates to a harness fabrication process which provides a test tab site for testing and which also provides a ready visual indication of cable quality.
Cable harnesses are widely used in electronic and electrical products today. Generally, cable harnesses include at least one multicircuit connector terminated to an insulated multi-conductor cable. Most cable harnesses, such as double-ended and daisy chain harnesses, include several connectors terminated to a common cable segment. These may be used for making jumper connections between printed circuit boards in electronic components. Most cable harnesses in use today employ one piece or two piece mass terminated connectors including insulation displacement type electrical contacts. Insulation displacement connectors are well suited for use in automated cable assembly.
Both semi-automatic and fully automated cable harness fabricators are presently known. Illustrative examples include those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,285,118; 4,439,919; 4,419,817; 4,580,340; 4,596,072, to name but a few.
A unique apparatus for fully automated fabrication of daisy chain harnesses is disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 745,171 filed June 17, 1985. In that apparatus, a plurality of mating pairs of electrical connector parts are terminated to a continuous flat cable segment. Termination is accomplished by compressing a predetermined cable portion between a pair of connector parts one of which includes a plurality of insulation displacement terminals positioned therein. In the apparatus each connector part is carried by a tooling station on a rotatable indexing turret. The opposed turrets are moveable toward each other at a termination station to effect termination. In use, a cable is advanced through the termination station of the apparatus and the turrets are rotated to bring mating connector halves into registration. The turrets are advanced toward each other to terminate the connector to a predetermined portion of the cable. The process is repeated until all the connectors have been applied at spaced apart portions on the cable. Thereafter, cutting blades, mounted on the turrets are rotated into alignment at the termination station and are moved toward each other to sever the completed harness from the cable supply.
In current commercial environments, manufacturers of electronic and electrical instruments are now requiring interconnection manufacturers to supply increasing quantities of cable harnesses on a just-in-time delivery schedule with zero defects.
Alternatively, these manufacturers are requesting their suppliers of cable and connectors to provide them with the necessary tooling to permit harness fabrication to be performed by them at their own locations according to their own schedules. In these arrangements, the electronics manufacturers need to perform quality control evaluations for their adapted, now in-house, harness fabrication operations.
For these reasons, there is presently a need for fully automated cable harness fabrication methods which also include an automated integral harness testing capability to provide an immediate quality control evaluation of the harnesses produced.